Combination garment



March 22, 1960 MOREHOUSE 2,929,380

COMBINATION GARMENT Filed July 16, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. p/Nf/C/AA. Nowous:

March 22, 1960 P. A. MOREHOUSE COMBINATION GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 16, 1958 INVENTOR. flqrp/cm r4. Mega/Joust 14 rrQq/YE Y United COMBINATION GARMENT Application July 16, 1958, Serial No. 749,026

Claims. (Cl. 128===432) This invention relates to combination garments for women, and it has for its object to provide a novel lightweight garment of this type which is adapted to control and mold the figure throughout and thus afford a smooth foundation for outer garments while at the same time insuring perfect comfort and freedom of movement to the wearer in all positions of the body.

Another object of the invention .is to provide a garmentof the above type having novel and improved means for flattening the diaphragm and abdomen without the use of stiffening busks or stays, so that, by reason of its simplified construction, it is much easier and cheaper to manufacture than previous combination garments affording comparable figure control. "Still another object is to provide a combination corset and brassiere in which the parts are so constructed and integrated as to permit relative up and down movement between the front portion of the corset and brassiere and thus prevent either part of the unitary structure from exerting undue tension on the other part or from riding up on the figure during the course of normal or even strenuous physical activity.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

The combination garment of the present invention comprises a corset having connected front and back sections composed of any suitable material adapted to fit the garment snugly and yieldingly on the body, and a brassiere having an upper front portion constituting individual bust pockets and a lower front portion secured thereto and extending transversely of the garment and telescoping inside the upper front section of the corset. The brassiere is secured to the side edges of the corset but is detached from the upper front section thereof, permitting the lower front portion of the brassiere to move up and down with respect to the corset front. A central control panel underlying the front-section of the corset, so as to engage the diaphragm and abdom' inal region of the body when the garment is worn. has its upper end secured to the lower front portion of the brassiere and its lower end secured adjacent the inner bottom edge of the front section of the corset, but is otherwise detached from the corset. This floating con-- trol' panel, positioned to overlie and confine the diaphragm and abdomen, is preferably composed, at least in these regions, of one-way stretch elastic material adapted to stretch only in a've'rtical direction, thus not only providing the proper flattening control where needed but also permitting the connected lower front portion of the brassiere to move yieldingly up and down with the upper front section of the corset in accordance with bending movements of the body.

The invention is described more in detail in connection with a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a combination garment embodying the invention, showing same as worn on the fig r ice Fig. 2 is rear view of the garment on the figure;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the garment with the front section of the corset broken away to show the interior;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken through the front of the garment on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the front of the garment on line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the entire garment on line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

The combination garment shown in the drawing for purposes of illustration comprises a corset having front and back sections 1 and 2 secured together by side seams 3 and 4 and extending from above the waistline to a point below the hips, and a brassiere 5.

In the embodiment illustrated, the front and back sections 1 and 2 of the corset are made of light-weight elastic fabric which stretches both horizontally and vertically, and the front section 1 is constructed of two vertical halves secured together by a central vertical line of stitches or fagoting 6.

The brassiere 5 comprises an upper front portion of soft inelastic material constituting individual bust pockets 7 and 8 which are shaped to mold and elevate the busts to a high and youthful position, and a lower front portion 9 secured thereto and extending transversely of the garment and telescoping inside the front section 1 of the corset. The lower front portion 9 of the brassiere may be made of the same two-way stretch elastic fabric as the front and back sections of the corset, and, in the embodiment illustrated, is constructed of a relatively broad central section having two narrower side sections secured thereto by vertical lines of stitches or fagoting 10 and 12.

The outer edges of the lower front section 9 of brassiere 5, which are secured to the outer portions of bust pockets 7 and 8, are secured to the juncture of the front and back sections 1 and 2 of the corset by side seams 3 and 4, but the lower front portion 9 of the brassiere is detached from the front section 1 of the corset as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, permitting said lower front portion 9 of the brassiere to move up and down with respect to the corset front 1 in accordance with bending movements of the body.

An elongated central control panel 13 underlying the front section 1 of the corset has its upper end joined to the lower front portion 9 of brassiere 5 and its lower end secured at 14 to the inner bottom edge of said front section 1, and is otherwise detached from the corset. While the control panel 13 may be made of two or more connected pieces of material, actually, in the embodiment illustrated, the panel 13 as viewed in Fig. 3 of the drawing is integral with, and a depending extension of, the central section of the lower front portion 9 of the brassiere, and is thus composed of two-way stretch elastic fabric.

For the purpose of flattening the diaphragm and abdomen, however, a layer or lining 15 of fabric is secured by horizontal stitches i6 and vertical stitches 17 to the inner face of the elongated panel 13 as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The lining 35 may be inelastic, or, as in the embodiment illustrated, it may be made of one-way vertically stretchable elastic fabric of a length and width sufiicient tor the purpose stated.

Thus, while the portion of panel 13 below the lining 15 is stretchable vertically and horizontally, as is also the integral central section of lower front portion 9 of the brassiere, the portion of panel 13 lined by the oneway vertically stretchable fabric 15 is inextensible horizontally and is tensioned over the portions of the body which require additional flattening when the garment is in wear.

In the garment illustrated, shoulder straps 19 and 20 are secured through the intermediary of adjusting clasps 21 to the apexes of bust pockets 7 and 8, and through elastic branched straps 23 to the upper edge of the back section 2 of the corset. Garters 24 are attached to the lower edges of the front and back of the corset as illustrated.

It will be noted that the entire body of the combination garment herein described and illustrated, except for the bust pockets and the one-way stretch piece of lining fabric 15, may be made from the same bolt of lightweight two-way stretch elastic fabric, cut in a minimum number of pieces and assembled with a minimum number of operations, being thus much easier and cheaper to manufacture than previous combination garments affording anything like comparable figure control.

Although a specific embodiment has been shown and described herein for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is capable of various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A combination garment for women comprising a corset having connected front and back sections extending from the region of the waistline to a point below the hips, a brassiere having an upper front portion constituting individual bust pockets and a lower front portion secured thereto and telescoping inside. the front section of said corset, said brassiere being secured to the side edges of said corset and detached from the upper front section thereof permitting the lower front portion of said brassiere to move up and down with respect to said corset front, and a central control panel underlying the front section of said corset having its upper end secured to the lower front portion of said brassiere and its lower end secured to said front section well below the waistline and being otherwise detached from said corset, said control panel being positioned to overlie and confine the region of the diaphragm and abdomen and being extensible in a vertical direction.

2. A combination garment for women comprising a corset having connected front and back sections, a brassiere having an upper-front portion constituting individual bust pockets and having its end secured to the upper sides of said corset and having a depending front portion below said bust pockets disconnected from and telescoping within the top of said front section, and a central control panel having its upper end secured to the depending front portion of said brassiere and its lower end secured adjacent the lower inner edge of said front section and being otherwise detached from said corset, said control panel being composed, at least in the region covering the diaphragm and abdomen, of one-way vertically stretchable elastic fabric, permitting the depending front portion of said brassiere to telescope freely within the upper front section of said corset in accordance with forward and backward movements of the body.

3. A combination garment for women comprising a corset having connected front and back sections extending from the region of the waistline to a point below the hips and composed of material adapted to tension the garment yieldingly on the body, a brassiere having an upper front portion constituting individual bust pockets and a lower front portion secured thereto and extending transversely of the garment and telescoping inside the front section of said corset, said brassiere being secured to the side edges of said corset and being detached from the upper front section thereof permitting the lower front portion of said brassiere to move up and down with respect to said corset front, and a central control panel underlying the front section of said corset having its upper end secured to the lower front portion of said brassiere and its lower end secured adjacent the inner bottom edge of said front section and being otherwise detached from said corset, said control panel being positioned to overlie and confine the diaphragm and abdomen and being composed at least in part of vertically stretchablemateri" permitting the lower front portion of said brassiere to move up and down within the upper front section of said corset in accordance with bending move ments of the body.

4. A combination garment for women comprising a corset having connected front and back sections composed of two-way stretch elastic fabric extending from the region of the waistline to a point below the hips, a brassiere having an upper front portion of soft inelastic material constituting individual bust pockets and a lower front portion secured thereto and extending transversely of the garment and telescoping inside the front section of said corset, said brassiere being secured to the side edges of said corset and detached from the upper front section thereof permitting the lower front portion of said brassiere to move up and down with respect to said corset front in accordance with bending movements of the body, and an, elongated central control panel underlying the front section of said corset having its upper end secured to the lower front portion of said brassiere and its lower end secured adjacent the inner bottom edge of said front section and being otherwise detached from said corset, said control panel being composed at least in the region covering the diaphragm and abdomen of one-way vertically stretchable elastic fabric to confine the diaphragm and abdomen while permitting the lower front portion of said brassiere to move up and down within the upper front section of said corset in accordance with bending movements of the body.

5. A combination garment for women comprising a corset having connected front and back sections, a brassiere having an upper front portion constituting individual bust pockets and having its ends secured to the upper sides of said corset, said brassiere having an C1011! gated depending front portion below said bust pockets disconnected from and telescoping within the top of said front section, said depending front portion of said bras siere being composed of two-way stretch elastic fabric covering the region of the diaphragm and abdomen and having its lower end secured adjacent the lower inner edge of the front section of said corset and being otherwise disconnected from said corset, and a lining of fabric inextensible in a horizontal direction overlyinz and secured to said depending front portion of said brassiere in the region of the abdomen for flattening the abdomen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,649,315 Marquis Nov. 15, 1927 2,123,848 Gordon July 12, 1938 2,299,903 Kahn Oct. 27, 1942 2,309,501 Cohen Jan. 26, 1943 2,582,166 Rosner Jan. 8, 1952 

